Stephanie White Must Be Feeling 22 About Coaching Caitlin Clark

Perhaps the most important domino to fall in the WNBA’s offseason coaching carousel did so on Friday as the Fever announced the hiring of former Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White.

Indiana makes White their head coach for several reasons. Not only does she have a history of both playing for and coaching The Fever in the past, but her adoration for Indiana’s franchise player Caitlin Clark — who clearly approves of the hiring — has been made abundantly clear.

White even went so far as to compare Clark to global music icon Taylor Swift during an April 2024 episode of ‘Fieldhouse Files’ podcast with Scott Agness.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to call a number of her games over the course of my career, but there’s been nothing like this season,” White said of Clark on the podcast. “I actually called their game in Maryland. I’ll never forget it because I was in the same hotel they were.

“I come down the escalator three hours before the game. The hotel is just packed. Hundreds of people. It’s cordoned off like it would be for an NBA team or an NFL team. There are security guards everywhere.

“These people were in the lobby of the hotel just to catch a glimpse of Caitlin Clark and this Iowa Hawkeye team. In fact, I talked to someone yesterday who said she’s the Taylor Swift of women’s basketball. That’s how she’s referred to from a non-basketball person. That’s the craziness of this team and Caitlin Clark’s ability right now to captivate a national audience,” she added.

Obviously, White feels ’22’; both as regards iconic Taylor Swift song and that Clark wears No. 22 for the fever.

And 22 is also the number White wore for the fever during his playing days.

Spirits are high in Indiana right now.